Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, the new president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), which represents the interests of the over 100,000 physicians, including  medical students and fellows of Indian origin, in the United States, has vowed to  make AAPI a premium  healthcare leader.

At  a solemn ceremony attended by hundreds of AAPI delegates from around the nation, Dr. Gotimukula and a new executive committee, consisting of Dr. Ravi Kolli, President-Elect; Dr. Anjana Samadder, Vice President; Dr. Satheesh Kathula, Secretary; Dr. Krishan Kumar, Treasurer;  Dr. Kusum Punjabi, Chair, Board of Trustees; Dr. Soumya Neravetla- President, Young Physicians Section; and, Dr. Ayesha Singh, President, Medical Student/Residents & Fellows Section; assumed charge of AAPI during the 39th annual Convention at the fabulous and world famous Omni Atlanta at CNN Center and Georgia World Congress Center on July 4.
 
Dr. Gotimukula will lead AAPI as its president in the year 2021-2022. AAPI is the largest ethnic medical organization in the United States,  serving one in seven patients in the US and in many ways contributing to the shaping of the healthcare delivery for the past four decades. 

 
A resident of San Antonio, Texas, Dr.Gotimukula is a board-certified pediatric anesthesiologist, practicing since 2007 is affiliated with Christus Santa Rosa, Baptist and Methodist Healthcare systems in San Antonio. After graduating with distinction from Kakatiya Medical College, NTR University of Health Sciences in India, she did Residency at the University of Miami & University of Illinois, and Fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan.

As a healthcare leader, Dr. Gotimukula recognizes that “AAPI has power. We have legitimate respect and trust of our communities in every corner of America. AAPI will leverage that power of our purpose and networks to help address specific challenges related to affordable healthcare delivery". 
 
The growing influence of physicians of Indian heritage is evident as increasingly physicians of Indian origin hold critical positions in the healthcare, academic, research and administrative positions across the nation. 

"We the physicians of Indian origin are proud of our great achievements and contributions to our motherland, India, our adopted land, the US and in a very significant way to the transformation of the Indo-US relations," Dt Gotimukula said. 

 Dr. Gotimukula urged AAPI to “improve health equity; get rid of discrimination; fight South Asian racial bias; reduce physician burnout; and, improve the career trajectory of the younger generation of Indian American doctors who will be taking care of us as we age.” (SAM)